The Kris Gets All The Glory ..

[kai]

Hello Lew,

There seems to be so many more kris around than kampilan that in itself shows it was a more popular weapon.

I don't think we have any unbiased sample to really estimate numbers of blades available. That being said, the kampilan is a typical campaign sword - you don't want to bother carrying it around all day in peace time...

One thing which may speak for the kris (or barong) though is that these are personal weapons representing the status, wealth and manhood of any Moro warrior: Thus, these blades are bound to have more lore associated with them than a war sword from a Datu's arsenal which gets handed out when shit hits the fan... Of course, also kampilan can acquire a "personality" for protecting the weilder, taking many lives during war, or by being utilized for executions.

Kampilan are heavier and more awkward to swing and harder to recover than a kris and when used together with a shield a kris in my opinion would be the better of the two.

I don't think effectiveness can be evaluated without intricate knowledge of the traditional fighting styles (of the specific ethnic group in question). When going to war, some extra reach does come in handy though. BTW, I've always been amazed how light the kampilan blades are (considering their length).

Are kampilan blades pinned or anchored to the hilt as are the kris via the baca baca? If not the blade would be more prone to separating from the hilt after a many powerful blows against a shield or another weapon. I just find the kris more user friendly thats all

If this really were the case, all blades would have been "secured" by extra means. That just about any blade from any culture throughout the Southeast Asian archipelago is of partial tang construction and set with resin should tell us something. (These folks were not dumb and better trained than just about any of us collectors... )

The tip of the kampilan might be able to open you up a bit but it's the sweet spot several inches behind the tip is where all the power of the blade is concentrated as is the kris. Plus the general shape of the kampilan tip would not lend itself to be good at penetrating armor or even non protected soft body parts the curl on the upper tip would get hung up on a rib or something.

Is this so? Bad design?


I'm with Rick: These blades deserve more attention than they are usually getting. I for one would love to see more old examples and possibly "missing links" which may be able to lessen the gap between the Moro kampilan and the other klewang from Indonesia (some of the swords with large pommel from the outer islands seem to be related but often fitted with trade blades).

Regards,
Kai

[Rick]

Armor was for the rich guys .
I'd expect warriors would have no more than a shield .

Against your average villager/slave raidee a most excellent sword; big and scary .
The Sulu Sultanate depended on slave labor .

The story is the history of the Moro peoples of the Philippines .

The kampilan is the pen .